


Wind Chill

by NamitaEdeca



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Graphic description of hypothermia, I have No Excuse, Jigen-centric, MIND THE MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH TAG PLEASE, This Is Sad, heed the warnings, this has been in my drafts forever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:01:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26983294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamitaEdeca/pseuds/NamitaEdeca
Summary: Jigen and Lupin get into a fight before their next heist.
Relationships: Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke, Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	Wind Chill

The air nipped and bit; it stung at his closed eyes; it threatened to pierce the soft insides should he dare open them. That was fine, it could bite and struggle all it wanted. His body sagged into the rough brick of the alley, body damp from the snowdrift he rested in. His head against grimy brick, too heavy to hold up on his own, neck exposed to the chill air. The wind snuck down the front and sides of his thin button-up every so often.

Shivers wracked his body, his hands listless at his side, feet sprawled in front of him. His knee ached, his lower back was on fire, but his knee was a familiar pain, almost welcome. He wondered if he should count himself lucky, he didn’t feel warm yet, that the dangerous promises of hypothermia hadn’t yet set in. That death lurked around the mouth of the alley, pacing, watching, waiting, for now.

_“Are you sure about this?” Jigen shifted in the hard, plastic chair, rested his arms on the table, and looked to his best friend, the man he’d followed for years now. For the first time, that he’d seen, this unflappable man was nervous about a job, “Lupin. Fucking look at me.” He watched stormy blue eyes narrow, and with a flip of a switch, Jigen could no longer tell his partner’s emotions._

_“Get everything together. And grab Goemon. I’ll go start the car. We hit the road in ten minutes.”_

_“Lupin. Fucks sake I’m not done talking with you.”_

_“I’m done listening.”_

_Jigen watched as Lupin walked out the door of the safehouse, his red suit jacket slung around his shoulders, a pale imitation of an embrace. After a minute Jigen stood, impulsively grabbing the dime-store salt-shaker and sent it sailing at the closed door. Bits of plastic ran skittering like frightened roaches across tile and the fake wood floor. Goemon stepped into the room, eyes searching._

_“Get your shit. We’re leaving.” Jigen turned from the swordsman’s gaze._

His arm shifted, it had gone somewhat numb, and the sensitive inside of his arm brushed against cold metal. So cold it burned; he hissed and jumped ever so slightly. He’d forgotten about it. Though, that didn’t matter anymore.

_His comm crackled to life, “I’ve got it, but I’ve also got company.”_

_“I’m up here. Goemon’s on the ground, get the hell out of there Lupin.”_

_There's a crackle as Lupin turns his comm off as soon as Jigen finishes his report._

_Jigen swore, this man was going to be the death of him. Another ten minutes passed, and Jigen glanced toward the door Lupin was supposed to have come through already._

_He tapped his comm on, “Goemon. Get to the car. Something’s gone wrong.”_

_“Should we go after him? We’re still in-“_

_“Just do it. I got a bad feeling. I’ve got Lupin covered.”_

_“Ji-”_

_“Don’t argue. Do it. Now.”_

With monumental effort his head flopped, and he opened his eyes (the wind has ceased for the moment) toward the mouth of the alley, no cars pass, the sirens had long since gone in pursuit of the others. He had said that he’d find them. That he’d catch up. He’d had every intention to, but as the sun rose at the other end of the city, turning a black sky, ashen with the deadly promise of morning. He wondered if it might be easier, to fumble with his gun and do what he’d always been taught never to do. He wondered what it would be like, staring down the barrel, with an itchy trigger finger and steady hand that never missed.

He raised his left hand, each moment it floated in the air, was another moment of waning strength, but his hands (they could have been a surgeon’s in another life) were shaky and unreliable from cold. He let his hand fall, and with it, his body burrowed farther into the snowdrift.

_His muzzle flashed again and again. Lupin sprinted, prize in hand._

_“Jigen, fall back.”_

_“Arsène, you got more heat on you than a rabid dog’s got foam. Goemon’s got the car going. Just get there.”_

_“Not without you.”_

_Jigen takes down three henchmen in quick succession._

_“Lupin. I’ll catch up.”_

_“Fuck that, every second you’re up there is another one they’ll use to kill you.”_

_“Why are you bitching at the man saving your life?”_

He shook harder now; he was sure his lips were blue. His hat had been lost in the earlier firefight, a disappointment, sure, but he was more worried about his friends. They got away, he’d made sure of that, but he hadn’t been expecting the attack from behind. He should have. He should have died from that mistake, but he didn’t. He’d run. Pushed his bleeding body to the limit and somehow made it here.

He supposed it was fitting, a dog slinking away to die alone, not wanting to worry its master. Except his would worry. His would tear down the world to look for him. For the first time, in a long time…regret filled his blood, hot and angry because everything else was numb, and all he could see was untarnished slush, melting in time with his breath.

The wind picked back up, biting and stinging at his hands, his ankles, and the bit of his back from where his shirt had ridden up. It raged like a monster, and in its midst, he let icy fingers claim him.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no excuses. I am sorry. I was very surprised when this idea first came to me about a year ago. No I don't know anything about why they're fighting. No I don't know why I did this instead of continuing my fluffy sleepy Jigen fic. I was in the mood for angst, so angst there was. Constructive criticism is welcome! I'm doing this instead of working on homework. Oh well. If the characters seem out of character, I apologize, I did my best to stay true, but I haven't had time to go back through and check myself. When I get the chance I'll probably go back through and update this to fit the character's personalities better. I may even do a couple chapters on the fall out.


End file.
